Various forms of glove construction have existed and been proposed over the years to give a comfortable fit to the hands and to accommodate a slightly curved configuration that a hand takes in the relaxed position. Such constructions have required highly skilled labor to shape and assemble the various parts making up such gloves in order to assure an accurate, comfortable and conformal fit when worn.
A problem that has existed with some of these prior art constructions is that they are not adapted for assembly while "in the flat" and in having the seams or seals joining the pieces making up finger portions of the glove extending along lines of non-extension of fingers of the glove. A line of non-extension of a finger of a glove can be defined as a neutral axis extending along the length of a finger formed by finger parts near the middle of a finger which does not compress or stretch upon flexing of the finger.
Glove constructions can be sewn in the flat with seams extending along lines of non-extension if the material making up the finger portions of the glove is highly elastic such as a knitted soft goods fabric and gloves constructed with such finger portions will provide sufficient stretch to accommodate flexing of the fingers of a wearer. However such material usually does not provide good abrasion resistance nor protection to the wearer as relatively inelastic material such as leather, plastic or heavy fabric. In order to provide sufficient flexibility to gloves made of these relative inelastic materials and still provide flexibilty to the fingers of the glove, it has been necessary to add additional parts to the finger portions which increases sewing or joining times and expense.
An example of one construction having extra parts is a "fourchette" high fashion-type glove in which curved side panels or strips of material are sewn between back and palm pieces of each finger to join and shape each finger. The result is that each finger has at least four seams joining four parts. The sewing required to join the parts is difficult because of the complex seam construction utilized and takes a great deal of time. Such construction is not applicable for sewing "in the flat" nor can such construction be formed by sealing the edges of parts together in the flat. Further the seams joining the parts together are not in line with a neutral line of the finger so that the seams are either compressed or stretched upon flexure of the finger.
Other finger portion constructions having extra finger parts and in which in some instances may be joined together in the flat utilize Clute cut and Gunn cut finger patterns. The Clute cut construction requires four separate back sides for each finger to be joined to a palm side of the glove having four finger portions. This construction thus requires assembly of five separate parts involving a multiplicity of separate sewing operations which increases sewing time and expense of manufacture. Gunn cut patterns for finger portions involve joining three separate pieces together in a plurality of separate sewing operations also increasing sewing time.
Glove constructions have been proposed in an attempt to reduce the number of parts thus reducing assembly steps of sewing or joining operations. For example in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 16,609 there is disclosed a finger construction of a glove which comprises a single star-shaped back piece where each point comprises the back side of a finger part. This back piece is joined to a palm piece of a glove having palm side finger portions by stitching the periphery of the star-shaped piece to the palm piece. Seams joining the pieces together do not extend along any lines of non-extension of the fingers and, as shown in the figures of the patent, extend below any line of non-extension with the result that the seams are subject to compression upon flexure of the fingers. Further there is no provision disclosed providing for a construction which will have finger portions slightly curved to accommodate the natural curvature of the fingers when in a relaxed position.
Positioning of seams joining finger parts of a glove at other than at a line of non-extension results in the seams being either compressed or stretched and thus making them more susceptable to moisture intrusion into the interior of the glove. This is particularly true when the seams are stretched. Further prior art finger constructions do not accomodate the full mobility range of the fingers without restriction.
If the glove construction is in the form of a soft fabric or of a pile-like material, and particularly where the glove construction is to form a liner for a glove, seams which are subjected to compression will compress the material adjacent the seams and thus reduce its insulation properties.
It is therefore an object of my invention to provide for a finger construction of a glove which will have a minimum of pieces as compared to standard glove patterns thus requiring less sewing operations to join the pieces.
It is a further object of the invention to provide for a finger portion construction which will accommodate easy flexing of the fingers of the glove.
It is a still further object of my invention to provide for a finger portion construction wherein seams joining the parts making up the finger portions will extend along lines of non-extension such that the seams will not be subjected to compression or stretching forces when the fingers are flexed. At the same time it is an object of the invention to provide for a seam location joining the parts making up the finger portion which is not subject to abrasion and which is positioned in a comparatively protected region between the fingers of the glove.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide for an insulation liner utilizing the finger construction of the invention wherein the seams joining the parts of the finger portions will have a minimum of heat leakage due to any compression of the insulation material.